World’s Largest Meatball

It’s not everyday you hear the chant, “Meatball! Meatball! Meatball!” However, that phrase rang throughout the streets at the St. Johns Columbus Italian Festival. On October 8, 2011, the Columbus Italian Club attempted to set the record for the world’s largest meatball. The final weight of the Italian cuisine was 1,110.5 pounds, topping the previous record set by a German group of 749.5 pounds. The world’s largest meatball was cooked in a specially-built oven where it cooked for 3 days at a temperature of 154 degrees Fahrenheit. When it was completed, the meatball had a diameter of 4 and 1/2 feet. It also took a forklift to hoist the meatball onto the scale. The meatball cooked by the Columbus Italian Club is currently in the Guinness Book of World Records. Even with the thousands of attendees at the festival, I’m sure someone was guilted into taking home the leftovers.